Just as a change of pace, here is a video of my 14-year-old daughter, Olivia, playing around with MY flip video which I haven’t even gotten to use yet. (Ahem) It seems to be a popular item here in the house.

Since I have not posted much here on the blog lately, I thought I would let Olivia regale you for a change. I’m pretty sure she was finished with her school work at the time of this recording. *wink*

“Hi, my name is Melissa and my son just completed 4th grade. I’m really concerned because he is really struggling with Reading Comprehension & Writing. I know the VLA program starts with 9th graders, but what program/programs would you recommend for 5th graders and middle schoolers? I appreciate your feedback, thank you!” This is an […]

If there is one question I get asked the most, it is this question: How do you teach writing, especially to high school students? What is interesting to me about this question is that there is more to being fluent in English than simply being able to write, yet we as home educators worry about […]

For most parents, raising children well is a high priority. We long to be the best parents possible, and we want to make the very best decisions regarding the particular children the Lord has entrusted to us. There is no one-size-fits-all way to parent, but is it possible to do too much for our children […]

There are so many voices out there today that offer parenting advice. When we are growing and developing as parents, how do we know who to listen to? I don’t really know the answer to that question. That is kind of why I posed it, but I’d like to trace over some familiar words from […]

Recently on Facebook, I asked folks what is up with the shootings in schools. Why do shootings happen so frequently? Here in our local school district, teachers may soon be licensed to pack heat in the classroom! Then there is the whole national conversation we’re having about bullying. It’s an epidemic among school children today. […]

Parents can hurt their children unlike any other type of humankind on the planet can. Parents of adult children often don’t realize that their offspring never outgrow the need for respect from their parents. And vice versa. But the onus is on parents to be mindful of this truth in the first place. I know […]

Many moons ago, when I started home educating my first child, I didn’t even know I was doing it. Nicky just naturally gravitated to books and floor puzzles and mazes and all sorts of logic-related stuff, and that’s the kind of thing we had around the house for him to fill his days with. (This […]

With the advent of the Internet and search engines like Google, many of us have become self-learners simply because information is literally at the tips of our fingers. It’s AWESOME, isn’t it? Yes! It’s so awesome that my daughter Lilienne, who will be 11 on Saturday, deduced recently that school really wasn’t necessary once you […]

Stressed for Success? By David Brooks (Joanne’s note: This high school graduation speech was NOT given to home-educated students, but I have kept this as encouragement, and I’ve put in bold those aspects of Mr. Brooks’ speech that speak to the beauty of home education.) “Many of you high school seniors are in a panic […]

There’s been so much talk about ADD and ADHD over the past couple of decades. I’ve done my own research and read books written by the “experts,” mostly doctors and clinicians. Then I found Steve Plog’s Website. I read his stuff about ten years ago, and I wrote to him for permission to reprint a […]